[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 52 (Tuesday, March 26, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




INTRODUCTION OF A RESOLUTION RECOGNIZING PEOPLE OF AFRICAN DESCENT AND 
                            BLACK EUROPEANS

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                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 26, 2019

  Mr. HASTINGS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce a resolution 
with my good friends and colleagues, Representatives Gregory Meeks of 
New York, Gwen Moore of Wisconsin, and John Lewis of Georgia, which 
recognizes People of African Descent and Black Europeans.
  Our resolution would observe the history and current situation of 
People of African Descent living in Europe and Black Europeans during 
the United Nations designated International Decade for People of 
African Descent. It also encourages the U.S. Secretary of State to take 
a number of steps to ensure their situation is improved following 
recommendations from last year's People of African Descent Week 
(PADWEEK) held by our colleagues in the European Parliament in 
Brussels, Belgium May 13-17, 2018.
  As it was quite rightly put by European Parliamentarian Cecile 
Kyenge, ``The People of African Descent Week reaffirms European values 
by developing strategic and coherent responses to make our society more 
inclusive in the face of rising racial prejudice and violence across 
Europe.'' Recommendations from the week included a European Black 
History Month and Remembrance Day for Victims of Colonialism and 
Enslavement; a fund for Black European led initiatives to address 
continuing disparities and discrimination and support for empowerment 
initiatives; European-wide strategies for the inclusion of People of 
African Descent; and support for transatlantic exchanges on common 
issues of racial prejudice and discrimination.
  The need for recognition of Black populations in Europe became clear 
ten years ago when I chaired a U.S. Helsinki Commission hearing 
entitled, The State of (In)visible Black Europe: Race, Rights, and 
Politics, where we learned that the situation in Europe is very similar 
to the one in the United States. While the presence of Blacks in Europe 
can be traced to enslavement, colonization, military deployments, 
voluntary or forced migration, the movement of refugees and asylum 
seekers, or educational and other professional exchanges, the story of 
Europeans of African Descent and Black Europeans still remains largely 
untold, rendering many of their past and present contributions to the 
very fabric of Europe unseen or forgotten, which is unacceptable.
  Madam Speaker, it is my hope that when we gather in the years to come 
to review the efforts of the United Nations designated International 
Decade for People of African Descent, we will not only speak of how our 
efforts resulted in our respective nations publicly recognizing the 
injustices and long-term impact of slavery and colonialism, but also of 
how our societies reconciled these issues in a manner that ensured 
equal opportunity, access, and justice for all people of African 
descent.

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